Panda Ink Press books › HSK 5
| New words at this level | 1,600 (syllabus nos. 2001–3600) |
|---|---|
| Words in total by the end of Level 5 | 3,600 |
| Characters to recognise | 431 new, 1,527 in total |
| Handwriting characters | 150 new, 550 in total |
| Stage | Intermediate (Levels 4–6) |
Level 5 adds 1,600 words, which takes you to 3,600, plus 431 characters to recognise and 150 more to write by hand. The list moves well past daily routine. In my book the themes run from feelings, personality and relationships to money, business, science and society.
With that many words, the example sentences matter. Every one of the 1,600 in my HSK 5 vocabulary book was written for that particular word, with pinyin and English, rather than filled in from a template. The units are grouped by theme so related words sit together.
Both Level 5 books are printable PDFs at the moment. There's no paperback yet.
Counts are from the HSK syllabus published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025 (in force from July 2026), which is what HSK 3.0 uses.
All 1,600 new Level 5 words in 160 themed units. Every word has its own example sentence, written for that word, with pinyin and English, plus tracing boxes and a practice page per unit.
577 pages, US Letter. Printable PDF on Gumroad. No paperback yet.
The 150 Level 5 handwriting characters, each on its own page with stroke order, example words, a sentence and 田字格 grids.
188 pages, US Letter. Printable PDF on Gumroad. No paperback yet.
Every book has a free sample above. More free pages, including the HSK 3.0 Starter Pack, are on the free page.
The first HSK 3.0 exam is on Sunday 13 December 2026. Chinese Testing International announced the worldwide launch on 9 September 2026.
Sources: chinesetest.cn and the Athens Business Confucius Institute notice. Checked 21 October 2026. Your test centre has the final word on its own dates.
